Wednesday, December 9, 2009

POTTED CHEESE - TERRINE DE FROMAGE

Lately, I have felt the need to learn more about England's unique food heritage and get closer to my British roots.

This country's cuisine is so interesting, delicious, yet so underrated and overlooked. Unfortunately, many people think that it is not worth the attention or that it's totally gross when, in fact, it is fabulous and has much to offer. It is for that reason that my aim is to show you England's rich as well as diverse culinary heritage through my future posts.

"Potted Cheese" is a humble as well as rustical dish that I have been enjoying since a very tender age. It is a kind of cheese terrine that is easily made, which doesn't cost much, is versatile and practical.

It is an excellent way to use up odd bits of cheese and can be kept in the refrigerator for several weeks. So, if ever you have semi-hard cheese leftovers and don't know what to do with them, then "Potted Cheese" is the solution!

Without having to fuss around in the kitchen, you'll be able to serve a toothsome appetitzer that goes perfectly well with bread, crackers and raw vegetables (especially with celery stalks).

The advantage with that paste is that you can flavor it in many ways (as it pleases you) and always have a pot on stock somewhere in the fridge.So, next time you have impromptu guests that show up inexpectedly at your place, you'll always have something fine at hand to offer them!

1. In a food processor, mix the cheese with the softened butter to a smooth paste.2. Flavor it with with the paprika, Tabasco and wine.3. Transfer the paste to a bowl and add the chopped walnuts.4. Pot and decorate with walnut halves.5. Store in the refrigerator.

Remarks:Remove from the refrigerator about 1 hour before serving.If you want to keep it for a while, cover your "Potted Cheese" with clarified butter.

How fitting that i've decided to check your blog at this moment - I am in England for the month and doing British themed recipes on my blog! Do check out my ode to the fabulous lemon curd when you have a moment!

You are totally right about the food here. So many people think this place is a culinary wasteland and that is so not true!

Your recipe is a combination of some of my favorite savory ingredients - cheese, butter and wine!

Wow, Rosa, I love this! So good for the holiday season! I used to love those tubs of port wine cheese during the holidays - but now they are full of all kinds of additives and preservatives - this is perfect! Thank you for sharing it! (I agree British food is highly UNDER-rated).

I too am delighted to hear you are going to be sharing more British food with us. I think English Cuisine has been in the corner way too long. Thank you so much for sharing Rosa. I am going to add your link to my side bar so I don't miss one more post!!!

Thanks for such an informative post! Frankly, I didn't know much about English food except for its national dish of fish & chips as it's pretty popular here ... Malaysia was a former British colony ... To many of us, fish & chips is part of childhood memory ...

I've been following your blog for quite a while and enjoying your wealth of good recipes. When Foodista announced that they are going to publish the best food blogs in a full color book that will be published by Andrews McMeel Publishing Fall 2010, I naturally thought of you. This recipe would be a good submission! You can enter here: http://www.foodista.com/blogbook/submit

Cheers, Melissa

melissa@foodista.comEditor and Community DeveloperFoodista.com -- The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit